Packaging containers of parallelepiped shape

ABSTRACT

A packaging container in which an element having at least one channel-shaped portion is enclosed by a channel-shaped member thus forming one or a connected series of parallelepiped shaped containers; the edges of the element being sealed to the member. A series of containers may be separated from each other and each container may have means for facilitating the opening thereof.

United States Patent Stark [451 Oct. 17, 1972 [54] PACKAGING CONTAINERS 0F [56] References Cited PARALLELEPIPED SHAPE V v UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] Inventor: Sven Oloi Soren Stark, Sodra Sandby Sweden 2,421,225 5/1947 Stensgaard ..229/23 B 2,74l,390 4 1956 Moore ..220 4 |73l Asxigncc: Cordotex SA, Luusunnc, Switzerland l 22] Wed: June 3, 1970 Primary Examir ler-Evon C. Blunk Assistant Exammer-.Johnny D. Cherry PP' N06 43,119 Attorney-Pierce, Scheffler & Parker [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT A packaging container in which an element having at Aug. 13, 1969 Sweden ..1 1242/69 least one channel shaped portion is enclosed by a channel-shaped member thus forming one or a connected series of parallelepiped shaped containers; the "229/23 220/4 Z 25 edges of the element being sealed to the member. A E52 series of containers may be separated from each other are a r and each container may have means for facilitating the opening thereof.

11 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED man 1 I972 SHEET 5 [IF 5 Fig.9

PACKAGING CONTAINERS F PARALLELEPIPED SHAPE This invention relates to a packaging container of parallelepiped shape.

Packaging containers of parallelepiped shape are often used within packaging technology, the reasons for this being, naturally, the good stackability of the parallelepiped packaging containers and the small space they require in relation to their volume.

In the cases where, up to now, the parallelepiped containers were made from a strip of packaging material, this was accomplished by a comparatively complicated folding operation combined with pressure moulding or, also,by plastic deformation of a plastic hose or a flat plastic blank heated to its softening temperature.

The above methods entail certain drawbacks. The folding and pressure moulding operation involves e.g. a relatively large consumption of materials since moulding entails the formation of triangular corner flaps which are not included in the effective surface of the package, while moulding by plastic deformation of a plastic material heated to its softening temperature involves uneven distribution of wall thickness and also distortion of any decorative pattern there may be, and in addition the moulding method is relatively slow. Apart from the above drawbacks, it has also been found difficult to avoid, in cases where filling is carried out in conjunction with the moulding operation, acquisition of the flavor of the plastic material by the goods being packaged. The above drawbacks are avoided by means of the invention which is characterized by its comprising two elements of channel section, which elements have an angular displacement in relation to one another and are joined along those of their edges that are in contact, in order to form a closed body. It is thus possible to produce a series of packaging containers according to the invention in a continuous row, the series of packaging containers being characterized by a continuous strip folded into a series of channel-shaped elements (U-section elements) and by a long member of channel section which is substantially the same length as the folded strip, the said long member being placed around the said folded strip and sealed on the inside of the web to the tops of the channel-shaped folds of the folded strip.

The method of producing packaging containers in accordance with the invention, is characterized by a first strip of relatively stiff foldable material being folded in a transverse direction so as to form a series of channel-shaped elements all in a continuous row, after which a second strip of preferably the same material is formed into a long channel-shaped member, the width between the legs of the long channel-shaped member being made the same as the length of the transverse channel-shaped elements; the long channel-shaped member being placed over the strip folded into the continuous series of transverse channel-shaped elements in such a way that the tops of the folds are in contact with the inside of the base of the long channelshaped member while the parallel sides of the long channelshaped member are in contact with the side edges of each of the transverse channel-shaped elements; and, finally, by the long channel-shaped member and the transverse channel-shaped elements being joined to one another in a durable manner at those areas where they are in contact.

The invention will be described below by reference to the following diagrammatic drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a package comprising two elements of channel section;

FIG. 2 shows a series of parallelepiped packages in a continuous row;

FIGS. 3 and 4 show strips of the packaging material;

FIG. 5 shows a strip of packaging material folded into elements of channel section FIG. 6 shows schematic apparatus for the production of packages in accordance with the invention FIG. 7 shows a cross section on line AA of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 shows a section on line BB of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6.

The package shown in FIG. 1, comprises two elements (1) and (2) of channel section which have an angular displacement in relation to one another and are fitted together in such a way as to form a parallelepiped body.

FIG. 2 shows a series of parallelepiped packaging units in a continuous row, each of which comprises elements (3) and (4) of channel section.

Between each of the packaging units situated in series alongside one another thereis a space (5), and the packaging units can be separated from one another by tearing open the tear flap (8) which extends around the entire circumference of the channel-shaped member (3).

As will be seen in FIG. 2, the tear arrangement may consist of two lines of perforations located at a certain distance from eachother, both of which extend around the whole of the channel-shaped member (3). Naturally, care must be taken to ensure that the tear lines are located within the space (5) between two adjacent packaging units. When a packaging unit is to be removed from the row of continuous packages, one end of the strip of material (8) that is situated between the two lines of perforations is pulled up and the strip is then removed by pulling in the direction of the arrow. Since the channel-shaped member (3), in the region (5) between adjacent packaging units, is joined to the tops (16) (see FIG. 5) of the folds in the folded strip (13), it is best to have tear lines along the tops (16) of the folds as well. The edge zone of the channel-shaped member (3) projects somewhat beyond the walls of the channel-shaped member (4), and the channel-shaped element (3) is in addition joined to a drawflap (9) which in FIG. 2 is shown folded down toward the face of the element (4). The method of producing a row of packaging containers in accordance with FIG. 2, as well as apparatus for carrying out the method, will be described below in greater detail with reference to FIG. 6.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 6 consists of an endless belt (18) which runs over driven wheels (31). Forming walled boxes the insides of which are in connection with a source of vacuum, and whose side surfaces are provided with holes or slots. The belt (18) is equipped with such guide units that the said forming units (19) are arranged at right angles to the said forming sections (26), at least along those sections of the belt where movement is vertically downwards along a straight line.

The equipment also has heating units (22) which are situated on either side of the belt (18), preferably in the vicinity of the upper wheel (31). The heating units are located in such a way that the ends of the forming units 19) must pass in front of the heating units.

The apparatus furthermore comprises a device, not shown, for folding a flat sheet into the shape of a channel, and in order to facilitate this work, the strip may be pre-folded in the way shown in FIG. 4, which shows a strip of packaging material consisting of a carrier layer (11) of e.g. foam plastic or paper and a layer of homogeneous thermoplastic material laminated to the carrier layer (11). If desired the laminate may consist of foam plastic and aluminum foil. The strip of material is provided with a fold line (12) and, in the case illustrated, a plastic strip (32) projecting from the carrier material.

When the strip as shown in FIG. 4 has been folded into the shape of a channel, it will have the appearance as in FIG. 9, and as will be seen in FIG. 9, one leg of the channel-shaped member is extended by a draw flap (9), the function of which will be described later.

Another strip of material of the type shown in FIG. 3 also consists of a laminate comprising foam plastic or paper (11) and a homogeneous layer of plastic (10). The strip of material is pre-folded by fold lines (12) in order to facilitate folding of the material. The strip of material in accordance with FIG. 3 is designed to be folded in the manner shown in FIG. 5, i.e. the strip (13) is folded along the fold lines (12) in order to form narrow folds (14) which have the same height and width and are spaced uniformly along the strip (13). The flat tops of the folds (14) are denoted by (16) and the space between two adjacent walls of the folds by (17).

The folded strip in accordance with FIG. 5 is made by folding the preformed strip (13) as in FIG. 3 along the fold lines (12) with the aid of equipment not shown here in greater detail, which may in principle consist of a rotatable or reciprocating pusher unit, by which the strip (13) is folded and inserted over and between the forming units (19).

As described before, the forming units (19) and the forming sections (26) situated between the forming units are connected to a source of vacuum and are provided with holes which open onto the surfaces of the forming units (19) and the forming sections (26), which means that the strip (13) folded over the forming units (19) will be drawn against the surfaces of the forming units (19) and the forming sections (26) and will be retained there by suction during the whole of the forming operation.

The distances between the fold lines (12) situated on the strip (13) must naturally be the same as the height of the fold forming units (19), the length of the forming sections (26) and the width of the forming units (19).

The width of the strip (13) is preferably such that it is somewhat wider than the width of the forming units (19), which means that an edge zone of the strip (13) will project by a matter of a few millimeters beyond the side edges of the forming units (19).

When the strip (13) has been drawn down between the protruding forming units (19) and made to adhere to the sides of the forming units (19) and the top sur# faces of the forming sections (26), the strip folded in this way is carried past the heating units (22), the parts of the folded strip (13) which project from the side edges of the forming unit being heated to sealing temperature. After passing by the heating units (22), the folded strip (13) is carried vertically downwards, the forming unit (19) assuming a position at right angles to the forming sections (26), which means that the folds (14) will be situated at right angles to the strip (13). In this position, the folded strip (13) is joined onto the previously mentioned member (3) that has been folded into the shape of a channel, which has been arranged with its web facing the tops (16) of the folds (14) and with its legs against the heated edge zones (15) of the folded strip (13).

Goods to be packaged are introduced through the fill pipe (20) which has an elongated narrow section and is located between the tops (16) of the folds (14) of the strip (13) and the inside of the web of the channelshaped member (3).

Since the fill pipe (20) 'must necessarily have some width, the web (29) (see FIG. 7) of the channel-shaped member 3 undergoes deformation in the region of the fill pipe. In order that this deformation should not set up harmful stresses in packaging materials which have slight elasticity, it is possible to arrange longitudinal fold lines in the web of the channel-shaped member (3), which, when the web of the member is stretched in the transverse direction, will accomodate the fill pipe without difficulty between the web 29) of the member (3) and the tops (16) of the folds (14) in the folded strip (13). If required, it will naturally be possible to arrange a number of longitudinal fold lines along the web of the member (3) in order to allow for even greater expansion of the web.

The legs of the channel-shaped member (3) and the side edges (15) of the folded strip (13), which have been heated to scaling temperature, are joined to one another by means of pressure units in the manner shown in FIG. 7, which is a cross section on line A-A of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6. When the legs of the channel-shaped member (3) are joined to the edge zones (15) of the folds (14) on the strip (13), there are formed parallelepiped spaces (33) (FIG. 6) which are separated from one another by the folds (14). In the case of carrier material of e.g. paper, in order to obtain a larger contact surface within the sealing area, the edges (15) of the folded strip (13) should be upset or folded in over the ends of the forming units (19) before the heating of the thermoplastic layer takes place. The spaces (33) are however in communication with each other since the web of the channel-shaped member (3) in the region of the fill pipe is not joined to the tops (16) of the folds (14) on the strip.

The parallelepiped spaces (33) are filled with the goods to be packaged, and, after a filled section has passed the orifice of the fill pipe, the web of the channel-shaped member (3) is sealed to the top (16) of the folds (14) on the strip by means of a sealing unit (21). Sealing by the sealing unit (21) may be accomplished by the use of heat, but practical tests have shown that ultrasonic sealing is to be preferred. FIG. 8 shows a section on line B--B through the apparatus shown in FIG. 6. After the sections have been filled and sealed by the sealing unit (21), they can be removed by means of a cutter unit (24) that acts along both the tops and side edges of the forming units (19).

Naturally, it is not necessary to cut away each package, and, as shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to remove a certain number of packaging units together in a continuous connected form and can be separated later on from one another through the tear flaps (8) which are best arranged on the strip of packaging material prior to the folding operations.

By providing the strip of packaging material to be folded into a channel member 3 with a projecting free plastic edge (32) as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to make e.g. the top of the package from a thinner material, i.e. the carrier layer can be left out. The fact that the top portion is made from a thinner material may be an advantage when the package is to be opened, which is further facilitated by the projecting plastic edge (32) being made wider than the width of the folds (14) in the folded strip of material (13), which means that a draw flap (9.) is provided which will further facilitate opening of the package by tearing off the top portion.

The constructional version of the invention described above and the method of its production have been found very advantageous, but it is naturally possible, within the framework of the idea underlying the invention, to modify both the package and the equipment. it is possible for instance to make use of packaging materials other than those referred to above, and it is naturally also possible to modify the apparatus used for the production of the packages and also the sealing units.

I claim:

1. A packaging container having a substantially parallelepiped shape, comprising a member of relatively stiff foldable material having a channel shaped crosssection with parallel legs, said member including an inner thermoplastic lamina, and an element of relatively stiff foldable material having a channel shaped portion with parallel legs, the distance between the inside surfaces of the legs of the member being the same as the transverse width of the legs of said element and the length of each leg of said member being greater than the length of each leg of said element and the width of each leg and the connecting web between each leg of said member being greater than the length of the web connecting the legs of said element, said member being angularly displaced with respect to said element so as to cover the openings of said channel shaped portion of said element, the inner surface of said member being heat-sealed to all of the abutting edges of said element to form a closed packaging container in which said member includes marginal edges extending beyond all of the abutting edges of said element.

2. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said member and said element are composed of plastic foam.

3. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said member and said element are composed of plastic foam having an inner coating of plastic film.

4. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said member and said element are composed of plastic foam having an inner lining of aluminum foil.

5. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of the legs of said member having a channel-shaped cross-section is provided with an extension at the end thereof to form a flap extending outwardly from the packaging container which can be pulled up to open the container by removing the associated leg of said member from the packaging container.

6. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one side of the parallelepiped-shaped container is composed of thinner material than the remainder of the packaging container.

7. A packaging container having a substantially parallelepiped shape, comprising a member of relatively stiff foldable material having a channel-shaped crosssection with parallel legs and a strip element of relatively stiff foldable material having a plurality of transverse folds to form a plurality of juxtaposed transverse channel-shaped portions with parallel legs, said channeL shaped member being at least as long as said transversely folded element, the distance between the inside surfaces of the legs of said member being the same as the transverse width of the legs of said element having a plurality of juxtaposed transverse channel-shaped portions and the length of each leg of said member being greater than the length of each leg of said element and the width of each leg and the connecting web between each leg of said member being greater than the length of the web connecting the legs of said element, said member being angularly displaced with respect to said element so as to cover the openings of said plurality of channel-shaped portions, the inner surface of said member being sealingly joined to the abutting side edges of the legs of the transverse channel-shaped portions and to the'end edges of the leg portions of the transverse channel-shaped portions,'to thus form a series of adjoined closed packaging containers in which said member includes marginal edges extending beyond the limits of said element.

8. A series of adjoined packaging containers as claimed in claim 7 wherein the adjacent leg portions of adjacent channel-shaped portions of said transversely folded element are continuous and are folded parallel to each other and are separated a distance substantially less than the distance between the legs of a single channel-shaped portion.

9. A series of adjoined packaging containers as claimed in claim 7 wherein at least one pair of adjoined packaging containers are provided with at least one line of perforations therebetween extending transversely of said packages and between the seals of the leg portions of the transverse channel-shaped portion of said folded element to said channel-shaped member to permit separation of the adjoined packages.

10. A series of adjoined packaging containers as claimed in claim 9 wherein at least one line of perforations coincident with the first mentioned line of perforations is provided in the material adjoining the leg portions of the transverse channel-shaped portions of said folded element to facilitate the separation of the adjoined packages.

11. A packaging container as claimed in claim 7 wherein the series of adjoined packaging containers have the same size and shape. 

1. A packaging container having a substantially parallelepiped shape, comprising a member of relatively stiff foldable material having a channel shaped cross-section with parallel legs, said member including an inner thermoplastic lamina, and an element of relatively stiff foldable material having a channel shaped portion with parallel legs, the distance between the inside surfaces of the legs of the member being the same as the transverse width of the legs of said element and the length of each leg of said member being greater than the length of each leg of said element and the width of each leg and the connecting web between each leg of said member being greater than the length of the web connecting the legs of said element, said member being angularly displaced with respect to said element so as to cover the openings of said channel shaped portion of said element, the inner surface of said member being heat-sealed to all of the abutting edges of said element to form a closed packaging container in which said member includes marginal edges extending beyond all of the abutting edges of said element.
 2. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said member and said element are composed of plastic foam.
 3. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said member and said element are composed of plastic foam having an inner coating of plastic film.
 4. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said member and said element are composed of plastic foam having an inner lining of aluminum foil.
 5. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of the legs of said member having a channel-shaped cross-section is provided with an extension at the end thereof to form a flap extending outwardly from the packaging container which can be pulled up to open the container by removing the associated leg of said member from the packaging container.
 6. A packaging container as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one side of the parallelepiped-shaped container is composed of thinner material than the remainder of the packaging container.
 7. A packaging container having a substantially parallelepiped shape, comprising a member of relatively stiff foldable material having a channel-shaped cross-section with parallel legs and a strip element of relatively stiff foldable material having a plurality of transverse folds to form a plurality of juxtaposed transverse channel-shaped portions with parallel legs, said channel-shaped member being at least as long as said transversely folded element, the distance between the inside surfaces of the legs of said member being the same as the transverse width of the legs of said element having a plurality of juxtaposed transverse channel-shaped portions and the length of each leg of said member being greater than the length of each leg of said element and the width of each leg and the connecting web between each leg of said member being greater than the length of the web connecting the legs of said element, said member being angularly displaced with respect to said element so as to cover the openings of said plurality of channel-shaped portions, the inner surface of said member being sealingly joined to the abutting side edges of the legs of the transverse channel-shaped portions and to the end edges of the leg portions of the transverse channel-shaped portions, to thus form a series of adjoined closed packaging containers in which said member includes marginal edges extending beyond the limits of said element.
 8. A series of adjoined packaging containers as claimed in claim 7 wherein the adjacent leg portions of adjacent channel-shaped portions of said transversely folded element are continuous and are folded parallel to each other and are separated a distance substantially less than the distance between the legs of a single channel-shaped portion.
 9. A Series of adjoined packaging containers as claimed in claim 7 wherein at least one pair of adjoined packaging containers are provided with at least one line of perforations therebetween extending transversely of said packages and between the seals of the leg portions of the transverse channel-shaped portion of said folded element to said channel-shaped member to permit separation of the adjoined packages.
 10. A series of adjoined packaging containers as claimed in claim 9 wherein at least one line of perforations coincident with the first mentioned line of perforations is provided in the material adjoining the leg portions of the transverse channel-shaped portions of said folded element to facilitate the separation of the adjoined packages.
 11. A packaging container as claimed in claim 7 wherein the series of adjoined packaging containers have the same size and shape. 